Abe Atiyeh said the city is "not following the rules."

Local developer Abe Atiyeh has taken another slap shot at Allentown's downtown hockey arena, this time asking the courts to strike down the Planning Commission's approval of the project.

The civil action filed Thursday in Lehigh County Court by Atiyeh's company Whitehall Manor maintains the commission's review of the arena plans last month was fraught with procedural errors and its approval rested on a faulty zoning caveat that lets the commission ignore zoning rules.

It's the second time Atiyeh has challenged the $158 million project in the courts. In November, he filed an objection to the city's use of eminent domain, saying the arena wasn't intended for the public good but to line the pockets of private enterprise.

"I want the city to abide by the laws just like I have to abide by the laws," Atiyeh said.

In Thursday's filing, Atiyeh asked the judge to sustain the appeal, reverse the decision of the Planning Commission and deny the plan for the arena.

City spokesman Mike Moore said the city won't comment until it has been served with the suit.

The lawsuit alleges that the Planning Commission made a host of errors Jan. 10 when it approved the preliminary and final plans for the 8,500-seat arena. The commission approved the preliminary and final plans all at once, did not observe the standard 30-day review period and did not provide proper public notice, according to the suit.

Most notably, the commission "erred and abused its discretion" by basing their approval of the plans off an exemption from zoning laws, according to the filing.

This exemption, called "exemption for municipal uses," was listed on the site statistics for the arena plan, said attorney John VanLuvanee of Doylestown. It allows properties that are either owned and operated by the city or authorized to do so by a lease approved by the mayor or City Council to disregard city zoning laws.

That ordinance is not permitted by state zoning codes, VanLuvanee argued in the filing. It is "unconstitutional and invalid on the basis it is over broad to the extent that it applies to lots, buildings and uses that are not and will not be owned, used or operated by the city of Allentown" for the arena, according to the suit.

The city had to cite that exemption, he said, because it's likely "this plan does not comply with underlying zoning ordinances."

Atiyeh's challenge over eminent domain last year disintegrated after the city finalized the sale and withdrew the declaration of taking.

But he said he'll continue to confront the city over the arena's development, because the administration "is trying to skirt the law."

"If Abe Atiyeh put that application in, they would have found a lot more problems," he said.